Dendias welcomes de-escalation in East Med without directly referring to Turkey

Greece's newly appointed defense minister has welcomed a de-escalation of tensions in the eastern Mediterranean, expressing hope this would lead to a "climate of trust" without directly referring to Turkey.

But Nikos Dendias said that trust must be built on the UN charter and on respect for the rule of law on land and at sea with the "absolute condemnation for the threat of the use of force."

Dendias, a former foreign minister, made the remarks after talks with his Cypriot counterpart Michalis Georgallas during his first overseas visit following the reelection of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Although Dendias' remarks were clearly referring to Turkey, the top diplomat didn't mention the country by name, ostensibly in hopes of encouraging reelected Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to engage in dialogue with Athens and Cyprus on a host of issues that...